Two Great Tourism Development Opportunities –
One Dynamic Day

Engage your business in the Central Cascades Geotourism Project by attending a FREE Workshop and FREE open-to-the-public GeoForum offered by Washington State Tourism:

Product Development Workshop -- 9AM to 11:30AM
Judy Walden, Walden Mills Group

The Product Development Workshop will help you learn how YOUR BUSINESS can make money in rural tourism by developing products that travelers will buy. This FREE workshop is fast-paced, entertaining and geared to help your business increase your profits by developing a compelling story, and creating travel packages and multi-day travel itineraries. The morning will leave you with many, many ideas that identify new partnerships and initiate new collaborations that will increase your bottom line.

The workshop will offer you the following:

• Quick assessment of travel products currently available to visitors in your place...and a sure-fire way to identify what would best improve things for your visitors;
• Develop the Story of Your Place –- the essential character of your region, what sets it apart from other regions, as well as how it fits into the character of the Central Cascades;
• Build the products and story into “tourism products” such as itineraries and packages;
• Share ideas on how these new products can help attract potential visitors.

Central Cascades National Geographic MapGuide Geo Forum -- 1PM to 3PM
Laurel McMillian, Rural Development Intiatives 

A National Geographic MapGuide has enormous power and reach to travelers. Laurel will give an overview of the MapGuide Project and a step-by-step demonstration of how you can nominate attractions and businesses that best represent your region.

The MapGuide is a full-color National Geographic map spotlighting the natural and cultural treasures of the spectacular Central Cascades region -- Mt. Rainier to Crater Lake. For more information and to nominate sites, please go directly to www.TheCentralCascades.com.

Nominations will be accepted until March 29, 2009.


DATE:  February 20, 2009

PLACE: Washington Farm Bureau
975 Carpenter Rd. NE, Olympia 98516

Schedule: